Rogue One
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (or simply Rogue One) is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the first installment of the Star Wars anthology series, and an immediate prequel to Star Wars (1977).[a] The main cast consists of Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker. Set a week before the events of Star Wars, the plot follows a group of rebels who band together to steal plans of the Death Star, the ultimate weapon of the Galactic Empire. It details the Rebel Alliance's first effective victory against the Empire, first referenced in Star Wars' opening crawl.[5]
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Kathleen Kennedy
- Allison Shearmur
- Simon Emanuel
- John Gilroy
- Jabez Olssen
- Colin Goudie
- December 10, 2016 (Pantages Theatre)
- December 16, 2016 (United States)
134 minutes[1]
United States
English
$1.058 billion[4]
Based on an idea first pitched by Knoll ten years before it entered development, the film was made to be different in tone and style from the traditional Star Wars films, omitting the customary opening crawl and transitional screen wipes. Principal photography on the film began at Pinewood Studios,[6] Buckinghamshire, in early August 2015 and wrapped in February 2016. The film then went through extensive reshoots in mid-2016.[7] The film's score was composed by Michael Giacchino, rather than John Williams, who composed the score of all prior Skywalker Saga films up to that point. With an estimated production budget of at least $200-265 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Rogue One premiered in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 16. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its acting, story, visuals, musical score, cinematography, and the darker and more serious tone compared to previous Star Wars films, but criticism for its pacing, characters, and digital recreations of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time and the second-highest-grossing film of 2016 during its theatrical run. It received two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.
A spin-off television series Andor, debuted on Disney+ on September 21, 2022, with Luna returning as the title character.
Plot[edit]
Research scientist Galen Erso and his family hide on the planet Lah'mu when Imperial weapons developer Orson Krennic arrives to press him into completing the Death Star, a superweapon capable of destroying planets. Galen's wife Lyra is killed in the confrontation while their daughter Jyn escapes and is rescued by rebel extremist Saw Gerrera.
Fifteen years later, cargo pilot Bodhi Rook defects from the Empire, taking a holographic message recorded by Galen to Gerrera on the desert moon Jedha. Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor learns of Rook's defection and the Death Star from an informant. Jyn is freed from an Imperial labor camp at Wobani and is brought to the Rebel leaders Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, who convince her to find and rescue Galen so the Alliance can learn more about the superweapon. Cassian is covertly ordered to aid Jyn but kill Galen rather than extract him.
Jyn, Cassian, and reprogrammed former Imperial droid K-2SO travel to the moon Jedha, where the Empire loots kyber crystals from Jedha City to power the Death Star; Gerrera and his partisans are engaged in an armed insurgency against them. With the aid of blind spiritual warrior Chirrut Îmwe and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Gerrera, who holds Rook captive. Gerrera shows her the message in which Galen reveals he has secretly built a vulnerability into the Death Star. The schematics detailing this are in an Imperial data bank on the planet Scarif.
On the Death Star, Krennic orders a low-powered test fire which destroys Jedha City. Jyn and her group take Rook and flee the moon, but Gerrera remains to die with the city. Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic before using Rook's defection and security leak as a pretext to take control of the project. Rook leads the group to Galen's Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. Rebel bombers then attack the facility. Galen is wounded and dies in Jyn's arms, before she escapes with her group on a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Krennic is summoned by Darth Vader to answer for the attack on Jedha. Krennic seeks his support for an audience with the Emperor, but Vader instead chokes him and orders him to ensure no further breaches occur.
Jyn proposes a plan to steal the Death Star schematics to the Rebel fleet but fails to gain approval from the Alliance Council, who feel victory against the Empire is now impossible. Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn's group leads a small squad of Rebel volunteers to raid the databank; the group arrives on Scarif in the stolen Imperial shuttle (which Rook dubs "Rogue One") after having been granted access through the planet's shield by feigning as legitimate traffic. Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO infiltrate the base while the other Rebels attack the Imperial garrison as a diversion.
The Alliance learns of the raid from intercepted Imperial communications and deploys their fleet in support. K-2SO sacrifices himself so Jyn and Cassian can retrieve the data. Îmwe is killed after activating the master switch to allow communication with the Rebel fleet, and Malbus is killed shortly afterward. Rook is killed by a grenade after informing the Rebel fleet that it must deactivate the planetary shield to allow the transmission of the schematics. Rebel Admiral Raddus uses a Hammerhead corvette to crash two Star Destroyers into each other; the wreckage collides with and destroys the shield generator. Jyn obtains the schematics but is ambushed by Krennic, who is shot and wounded by Cassian. Jyn transmits the schematics to the Rebel command ship via the base's antenna moments before the Death Star suddenly arrives above Scarif. With another shot from the Death Star, Tarkin destroys the base, killing Krennic, Cassian, Jyn, and the remaining ground forces.
The Rebel fleet prepares to jump to hyperspace. However, Admiral Raddus and many of the fleet's ships are intercepted by Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader boards the Rebel command ship and kills many troops trying to regain the schematics, but a corvette[b] escapes with them on board. Aboard the fleeing ship, Princess Leia Organa declares that the schematics will provide hope for the Rebellion before the ship enters hyperspace.[c]
Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O'Reilly, Anthony Daniels, and Jimmy Vee reprise their roles from previous films as Bail Organa,[23] Mon Mothma,[24] C-3PO,[25] and R2-D2,[25] respectively; Vee is uncredited for his role. James Earl Jones also reprises his role from previous films as the voice of Darth Vader,[26] who is physically portrayed by Spencer Wilding during the meeting with Krennic and aboard the Star Destroyer, and by Daniel Naprous for the end scene.[27][28][29] Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia Organa are played by Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila, respectively, with the digital likenesses of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher superimposed.[30][31] Henry also provides the voice for Tarkin, while archival audio of Fisher is used for Leia.[32] Angus MacInnes and Drewe Henley are featured as Gold Leader Dutch Vander and Red Leader Garven Dreis, respectively, via unused footage from A New Hope; MacInnes returned to record new dialogue for Vander, while new dialogue for the deceased Henley was assembled from archival material.[25][33][34][35] David Ankrum, who voiced Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, reprises his role in a vocal cameo.[34][36] Ian McElhinney, Michael Smiley, Andy de la Tour, and Tim Beckmann play General Jan Dodonna, Dr. Evazan, General Hurst Romodi, and Captain Raymus Antilles, respectively.[34] Warwick Davis plays Weeteef Cyubee, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans.[37] Dave Filoni reprises his role as C1-10P from Star Wars Rebels. Stephen Stanton voices Admiral Raddus, while Paul Kasey appears in costume as the alien character on-screen.
Duncan Pow plays Ruescott Melshi,[38] a sergeant in the Rebel Alliance. Additionally, Alistair Petrie plays General Davits Draven,[12] Ben Daniels plays General Antoc Merrick,[39] and Valene Kane plays Lyra Erso, Jyn's mother.[40] Jonathan Aris,[41] Fares Fares,[42][43] and Sharon Duncan-Brewster appear as Senators Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar, and Tynnra Pamlo, respectively. Simon Farnaby plays a member of Blue Squadron.[25] Jordan Stephens appears as Rebel Alliance member Corporal Tonc.[25] Nick Kellington plays Bistan, the door gunner on a U-wing during the battle on Scarif.[44] Ian Whyte plays Moroff, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans.[45] Daniel Mays appears as Tivik. Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, director and producer of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, respectively, cameo as two Death Star technicians.[46]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In 2003, during the production of Episode III in Sydney, John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for all three prequels, pitched an episode for the unproduced series Star Wars: Underworld. At the time he had written a short treatment called "Destroyer of Worlds".[47][48] After the Disney acquisition he felt as though he had to pitch it again or forever wonder "what might've happened if I had."[49][50] In May 2014, Disney announced Gareth Edwards would direct the film and Gary Whitta would write the script.[51] That October, cinematographer Greig Fraser revealed that he would work on the film.[52] In January 2015, it was revealed Whitta had completed his work on the script, and would no longer be with the project.[53] Simon Kinberg was considered as a replacement.[54] Later that month, it was announced Chris Weitz had signed to write the script for the film.[55] In March 2015, the title was announced.[56][d]
Edwards stated the style of the film would be similar to that of a war film, stating, "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie."[58][59] Assuming Disney would not allow a dark ending, Edwards had the main characters surviving in the original version of the script, but the producers opted for a more tragic ending and never filmed the original version.[60][61][62]
In May 2016, reports emerged the film would undergo five weeks of reshoots with Tony Gilroy writing additional scenes, as well as acting as a second-unit director under Edwards.[63][64] With input from Edwards, Gilroy oversaw the edit and additional photography of the film which tackled several issues, including the ending.[65] In August, Gilroy was given screenplay credit alongside Weitz and was paid $5 million for his work on the film.[66][67] Additionally, Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Z. Burns, and Michael Arndt all contributed to the script at various stages in development.[68][69]
In July 2016, discussing whether the film would feature an opening crawl, Kathleen Kennedy said, "we're in the midst of talking about it, but I don't think these [anthology] films will have an opening crawl." Edwards explained that the film was "supposed to be different than the saga films," and that "This film is born out of a crawl. ... There's this feeling that if we did a crawl, then it'll create another movie."[70] In November 2016, Kennedy confirmed the film would not feature an opening crawl, instead beginning in "a way that is traditional, with just the title."[71]
At the 2016 Star Wars Celebration, Edwards said the title had three meanings: "a military sign," referring to the Red Squadron from A New Hope; "the 'rogue' one" of the franchise, given it is the first film to not be part of the main saga; and a description of Jyn Erso's personality.[72]
Casting[edit]
In January 2015, The Hollywood Reporter stated numerous actresses, including Tatiana Maslany, Rooney Mara, and Felicity Jones were being tested for the film's lead.[73] In February 2015, it was announced Jones was in final talks to star in the film, while Aaron Paul and Édgar Ramírez were being eyed for the male lead role.[74] In March 2015, Jones was officially cast.[56] In March 2015, Deadline Hollywood reported a rumor that Ben Mendelsohn was being considered for a lead role.[75] The next month, TheWrap reported that Sam Claflin was being eyed for a role, while Riz Ahmed was in negotiations to join the film.[76] In May, Mendelsohn, Ahmed, and Diego Luna were added to the cast of the film, in the lead roles.[77] Forest Whitaker was added to the cast in June 2015.[78] In July 2015, Jonathan Aris was cast to play Senator Jebel.[79] Genevieve O'Reilly was cast as Mon Mothma, reprising her role from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[24] James Earl Jones was confirmed to return as the voice of Darth Vader in June 2016.[80]
Marketing[edit]
Promotion[edit]
Promotion of Rogue One was initially delayed by the release of the film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in July 2015, because the titles are similar. Paramount Pictures registered and cleared the title with the Motion Picture Association of America in January 2015, well before Disney announced the title of its forthcoming Star Wars spinoff. Disney and Lucasfilm had to reach an agreement with Paramount over promotion in order to avoid any confusion in the public mind. Disney agreed to embargo promotion on Rogue One until after mid-2015, with the exception of a very short teaser which was screened at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim that year.[119]
A teaser trailer for Rogue One, released by Lucasfilm on April 7, 2016, was praised by reviewers for its portrayal of strong female characters. The Daily Telegraph described Jyn Erso's character as "a roguish, Han Solo-style heroine," calling the film "progressive," while noting its painstaking faithfulness to the production design style of the original Star Wars trilogy.[120] The Hollywood Reporter also noted the visual nods to the original trilogy, and examined the film's possible narrative direction, considering that the outcome is to some extent already revealed in the opening crawl of A New Hope.[121] The Atlantic writer David Sims stated that the trailer brought "back some memorable pieces of architecture, from the lumbering AT-AT walkers to the Death Star itself, not to mention the glorious 70s costuming of Star Wars." He added that the trailer has "the look," blending the old with the new.[122] The trailer was viewed close to 30 million times in its first 29 hours, at a rate of 800,000 views per hour, from Facebook and YouTube, which is 200,000 views shy of what the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was receiving in November 2014.[123]
In June 2016, Rogue One was promoted at the Star Wars Celebration Europe III event in London. During the event, a new official poster was unveiled, which depicts a battle taking place on the tropical planet Scarif, with the Death Star looming large in a blue sky, above which is printed the tagline "A Rebellion Built on Hope". A second teaser trailer was screened exclusively at the event, and it was reviewed favorably by critics; The Daily Telegraph noted that the trailer revealed new locations such as the planets Jedha and Scarif, and that its most significant revelation came in the final seconds of the teaser, with the appearance of Darth Vader, reflected in a computer screen and accompanied by his classic breathing sound effect.[98] Variety also hailed the Vader reveal, and noted that the emphasis of the production was much more on the kinetic depiction of large battle sequences and full-on warfare, comparing it to Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now. A showreel was also shown during the event, which featured footage from the film, cut with behind-the-scenes shots and interviews with the director and cast members.[124] The second trailer was shown publicly during a broadcast of the 2016 Summer Olympics and received positive responses; Wired stated that the trailer was "littered with nostalgic throwbacks to the original trilogy," while Rolling Stone described the CGI landscape shots seen in the footage as "eye-poppingly gorgeous."[125][126]
A further trailer released in October 2016 prompted The Hollywood Reporter to comment that the newly revealed footage looked like "a trailer to a different movie than the one advertised earlier," remarking that Jyn Erso appeared to be portrayed as a more vulnerable character, and highlighting the appearance of Galen Erso as a protective father figure.[127] Vanity Fair also commented on the emphasis given to Jyn's relationship with her father, suggesting that Rogue One was drawing on "the Star Wars franchise's greatest natural resource: daddy issues."[128]
The film's publicity tour began in Mexico on November 23, 2016.[129]
In Asia, Disney focused marketing efforts on Donnie Yen, with his individual poster being used for marketing in territories including Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The official Star Wars Facebook page of the respective Asian countries also featured clips and videos of Donnie Yen speaking various languages, greeting fans and telling them to support the film. Disney also released various versions of international trailers with more footage of Yen.[130][131]
Tie-in novels[edit]
A tie-in novel to the film, Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, was released on November 15, 2016.[132] Written by veteran Star Wars novelist James Luceno, the story is set some years before the events of Rogue One, and provides a backstory to the 2016 film.[133] The novelization of the film was written by Alexander Freed, and released on December 16, 2016.[134]
Months after the film was released, Lucasfilm Press published two further novels, titled Star Wars: Rebel Rising and Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills on May 2, 2017. Rebel Rising was written by Beth Revis, and explains what happened to Jyn Erso between the time her mother died and the day when Rebel agents freed her from an Imperial labor camp, a time period that the film skips over in its opening minutes.[135] Guardians of the Whills was written by novelist and comic writer Greg Rucka, and focuses on the characters Chirrut and Baze, telling their backstories as well as giving more context to the events that happened on Jedha prior to the Imperial occupation depicted in the film.
Comics[edit]
Months after the film was released, Marvel Comics adapted the film into a six-part comic book miniseries, which adds extra content.[136] The miniseries' complete collection was released on December 12, 2017.
In August 2017, IDW Publishing announced that it would make a one-shot graphic novel adaptation of the film, which was released one day after the Marvel miniseries' collection was released. Unlike the Marvel miniseries, this graphic novel will have slightly more cartoonish visuals.[137][138]
In the same month, Marvel Comics released the Star Wars: Rogue One – Cassian & K-2SO Special, a 40-page one-shot comic focusing on the first meeting between Cassian Andor and K-2SO. The comic was written by Duane Swierczynski and pencilled by Fernando Blanco.
Video games[edit]
A downloadable expansion pack for Star Wars Battlefront (2015), titled Rogue One: Scarif, was released in December 2016, and added content based on the film, including new game modes, a map based on the planet Scarif, and Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic as playable characters.[139] A free virtual reality mission for PlayStation 4 was also released alongside the expansion.[140] A free update for Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) was released in April 2020, adding a different Scarif map and other Rogue One-inspired content.[141] Several characters and concepts from the film were also included in the mobile games Star Wars: Force Arena,[142] Star Wars Commander,[143] and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.[144]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Rogue One grossed $534.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $523.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $1.057 billion.[4] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $319.6 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participation, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2016's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[2]
In late November 2016, box office projections for the United States and Canada had the film grossing $100–150 million during its opening weekend.[151][152] Disney chairman Bob Iger noted that Disney and Lucasfilm did not expect Rogue One to match The Force Awakens' total gross of $2.1 billion, nor its $248 million opening.[153] Pre-sale tickets for the film went on sale at 12:01 am EST on November 28, 2016. Within 10 minutes, ticket sale sites such as Fandango crashed, much like they had in advance of The Force Awakens the year prior.[154] In its first 24 hours, the film had the second-highest number of pre-sale tickets ever sold, behind only The Force Awakens.[155] Worldwide, the film was expected to gross $280–350 million in its opening weekend.[156]
In the United States, the film made $29 million from its Thursday night previews, making it the highest-grossing Thursday opening of 2016. On Friday, the film grossed $71.1 million, and $46.3 million the next day, securing a total of $155.1 million in its opening weekend, the third-biggest debut of 2016.[156] It topped the box office once again in its second weekend, grossing $64 million (down 58.7%) over the three day weekend, and $96.1 million over the four day weekend. On Christmas Day, it grossed $25.9 million.[157] It finished first at the box office again in its third weekend, grossing $49.6 million (−22.5%) over the three-day weekend and $65.5 million over the four-day weekend.[158] In its fourth weekend, Sunday projections had the film grossing $22 million, besting newcomer Hidden Figures' $21.8 million. However, final figures the following day revealed the film tallied a weekend total of $21.9 million, falling to second place behind Hidden Figures' $22.8 million.[159] The IMAX re-release of the film on August 26, 2022, made $1.1 million over the weekend, bringing its running IMAX total to $105 million, 10th all-time.[160]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 463 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Rogue One draws deep on Star Wars mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise."[161] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 65 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[162] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported film goers gave the film a 91% overall positive score.[156][163]
IGN reviewer Eric Goldman gave the film 9/10, saying, "Rogue One is a movie crammed with fan service, but when fan service is done this well, there's little to complain about and much to adore."[164] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "this spin-off/prequel has the same primitive, lived-in, emotional, loopy, let's-put-on-a-show spirit that made us fall in love with the original trilogy."[165] /Film gave Rogue One 8/10, writing that the film is enjoyable but does not have the emotional weight of The Force Awakens, because "no character in Rogue One was strongly compelling."[166] PopMatters wrote, "Rogue One seems to enjoy spending time on a whole new batch of moons and planets we haven't seen before, reveling in the clutter and clamor of far-flung settlements where anti-Imperial sentiments fester. But the film is bogged down in engineering the complex maneuverings of spy games, dogfights, and the most sprawling Rebel-versus-Empire land battle scene since the opening of The Empire Strikes Back."[167] Justin Chang, writing for the Los Angeles Times, called Rogue One "a swiftly paced, rough-and-ready entertainment."[168]
The New York Times wrote, "All the pieces are there, in other words, like Lego figures in a box. The problem is that the filmmakers haven't really bothered to think of anything very interesting to do with them. A couple of 9-year-olds on a screen-free rainy afternoon would come up with better adventures, and probably also better dialogue."[169] Richard Brody of The New Yorker called the film "lobotomized and depersonalized," and wrote it "isn't so much a movie as a feature-length promotional film for itself; it's a movie that is still waiting to be made."[170] The Washington Post wrote "Rogue One represents an unobjectionable exercise in franchise extension. It's fine. It'll do. For now."[171]
IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a C+ rating, calling it "a spirited but agonizingly safe attempt to expand cinema's most holy blockbuster franchise and keep the wheels greased between proper installments ... just a glorified excuse to retcon some sense into one of the silliest things about the original." While he praised the set design and visuals, calling them "gorgeous," he criticized a lack of interesting character development and a script that felt "completely constricted by its purpose."[172]
Peter Bradshaw, film critic of The Guardian said: "Rogue One doesn't really go rogue at any stage, and it isn't a pop culture event like The Force Awakens, in whose slipstream this appears; part of its charm resides in the eerie, almost dreamlike effect of continually producing familiar elements, reshuffled and reconfigured, a reaching back to the past and hinting at a preordained future. There are some truly spectacular cameos from much-loved personae, involving next-level digital effects—almost creepily exact, so that watching feels at various stages like going into a time machine, back to the 80s and 70s."[173] Mark Kermode also writing for The Guardian gave the film 4 out of 5 stars praising the diversity of the cast as "Rogue One offers a welcome reminder of sci-fi’s power to envisage worlds in which race and gender barriers do not apply". He compared the film positively to Aliens as both are sci-fi war films with a strong female lead. He also praised the cinematography of the battle scenes which he said evoked images of the Normandy landings and the Vietnam War.[174]
Rogue One introduced many new characters into the Star Wars mythology, with Chirrut Îmwe, played by Donnie Yen, and K-2SO, played by Alan Tudyk, being the most popular. In a poll on the official Star Wars website in May 2017, in which more than 50,000 people voted, Chirrut Îmwe was voted as the most popular Rogue One character.[175]
George Lucas was reported to have enjoyed the film more than The Force Awakens; upon hearing this, Edwards said, "I can die happy now."[176]
The film was praised for its exploration of ethics in engineering; in a reviewer's words, "the core ethical arc of the film is one man's decision to engineer the Death Star in such a way as to prevent its use for galactic domination. One could fairly re-title the movie to 'Rogue One: an Engineering Ethics Story.'"[177][178][179]
A writer for the military news website Task & Purpose lauded Rogue One as the Star Wars film that best reflects real military experience. Many details, James Seddon writes, resonate with his own 21 years of service in the U.S. Navy:
